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Wienerschnitzel and Skate for Change - Hot Dogs for Homeless

Last
month, J.R. Galdari Chief Visionary Officer of Wienerschnitzel and Mike Smith,
Founder of Skate for Change and
Professional Speaker joined forces for a month-long tour focused on giving
back. The Hot Dogs for
Homeless Tour visited 20 cities with high homeless populations to provide
hot meals, socks, and hygiene kits for the homeless in these communities.
During the tour, Mike and J.R. also visited 20 high schools to share their
passion for making the world a better place – one person at a time.

Who was a part of the tour and how did the
collaboration come about?

JR: The Hot Dogs for Homeless crew was made up
of Mike and myself, along with chief marketing officer for Skate for Change,
Josh Schmitz, a videographer and a photographer. We were also joined along the
way by our friends, family and volunteers, who came out to help hand out hot
dogs and support the cause. We all came together with charitable giving in
mind, just trying to put out good energy and make a difference in the world.

Mike: The collaboration came about as a way to
fuse our shared passion of philanthropic giving. My non-profit, Skate for
Change, was founded four years ago, and when I met JR, we hit it off
immediately and decided to do something incredible together. Through the
generosity of Wienerschnitzel, who supplied the hot dogs as well as the
resources, we created this Hot Dogs for Homeless campaign with the goal of
helping as many people as possible.

What
was the result of Hot Dogs for Homeless and what do you hope the lasting impact
of the tour will be?

JR: We set a goal to raise $100,000 and give
away over forty thousand hot dogs…and we did!The purpose of this tour was simple: to feed as many homeless as
possible, and to make a lasting impression on anyone we come across. When we
visited high schools, the ripple effect the tour had was incredible. We
encouraged students to get involved in their communities and invited them to
join us to hand out hot dogs to the homeless. Our hope was that those kids
would maintain it after we leave.

Mike: In addition to providing hot meals to the
homeless, a big focus of this tour was to inspire young people to create
positive change in their communities. Over the course of the tour, we stopped
at 20 different high schools and spoke to over 40,000 students, encouraging
them to give back to their school and their communities, and to be mindful of
the legacy they leave behind.

How did you celebrate the success of the
tour? We heard there were tattoos involved.

JR: A few guys on the tour including Josh
Schmidt, Chief Marketing Officer of Skate for Change, and our good friend, The
Dingo, are proudly sporting freshly-inked hot dog tattoos. It’s cool to see
Wienerschnitzel making such a permanent impact.

Was there a specific city where you felt the
tour had the most impact?

Mike: We planned the tour around areas with large
homeless populations to make sure that we were able to help as many people as
possible. We met so many incredible individuals along the way and have so many
amazing memories from every city we visited. If I had to pick though, I’d say
that our days in Texas and our time at the L.A. Mission stick out to me the
most.

Why is it so important for companies to lead
by example?

JR: As a successful, 54-year-old brand,
Wienerschnitzel has the resources and the visibility to really make a
difference. I feel it’s our responsibility to share our successes with those
who are less-fortunate and I’ve put a huge focus on giving back. Supporting
worthy causes is something that is important to me personally and
professionally.

Do you plan to do another tour? How can
people get involved?

JR: We definitely plan to do another tour, and
are looking forward to taking what we’ve learned from this event and applying
it to the next. We’ll also be setting more aggressive goals next year.

Mike: Absolutely! We’re looking forward to getting
the crew together again next year and making Hot Dogs for Homeless even bigger.
People can get involved by sharing our story on social media, joining an
existing Skate for Change chapter, or starting their own Skate for Change
chapter. You can also visit www.SkateForChange.org.